With the advent of high technology needs and market deregulation, today""s energy market has become very dynamic. High technology industries have increased their demands on the electrical power supplier, requiring more power, increased reliability and lower costs. A typical computer data center may use 100 to 300 watts of energy per square foot compared to an average of 15 watts per square foot for a typical commercial building. Further, an electrical outage, whether it is a complete loss of power or simply a drop in the delivered voltage, can cost these companies millions of dollars in down time and lost business.
In addition, deregulation of the energy industry is allowing both industrial and individual consumers the unprecedented capability to choose their supplier which is fostering a competitive supply/demand driven market in what was once a traditionally monopolistic industry.
The requirements of increased demand and higher reliability are burdening an already overtaxed distribution network and forcing utilities to invest in infrastructure improvements at a time when the deregulated competitive market is forcing them to cut costs and lower prices. Accordingly, there is a need for a system of managing the distribution and consumption of electrical power which meets the increased demands of users and allows the utility supplier to compete in a deregulated competitive marketplace.
The present invention is defined by the following claims, and nothing in this section should be taken as a limitation on those claims. By way of introduction, the preferred embodiments described below relate to an electrical power management architecture comprising at least one intelligent electronic device (xe2x80x9cIEDxe2x80x9d) coupled with a portion of an electrical power system and further coupled with an internal network. The architecture further includes a firewall, the firewall operative to securely couple an external network with the internal network. In addition, the architecture includes a network interface operative to couple the IED with the internal network and facilitate a communications, initiated by the IED, of first power management data through the firewall from the internal network to the external network.
The preferred embodiments further relate to a method of communicating power management data in an electrical power management architecture between an internal network and an external network, the internal network being coupled with the external network by a firewall. The method comprises: monitoring a portion of an electrical power distribution system with at least one intelligent electronic device (xe2x80x9cIEDxe2x80x9d), the at least one IED further being coupled with the internal network; generating power management data by the at least one IED corresponding to said monitoring; initiating a first communications of the power management data to a receiver, said receiver being coupled with the external network; and facilitating the initiated first communications through the firewall to the external network for delivery to the receiver.
Further aspects and advantages of the invention are discussed below in conjunction with the preferred embodiments.